Victoria's Secret Releases Racy Video Featuring Model Candice Swanepoel (Video)

You've probably all seen Kate Upton, oozing out of a barely-there string bikini, on the cover of  the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Well, Victoria’s Secret is giving the mens' mag a run for its G-string by sexing up their annual swimsuit catalog and releasing a strip tease video of their stunning blonde South African cover girl, Candice Swanepoel, 23.

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Inside the catalog, Swanepoel models the latest swimwear from florals to abstract prints, from pastels to bold brights. This season’s swimsuits range from strapless to halter neck, strings to boy shorts, and there's even some hot one-piece styles, all inspired by Brazilian beaches with the tagline "Girls Just Wanna Have Sun." And let's just say Candace does an admirable job of advertising the VS MIraculous Push-Up Bikini. Those things are gonna sell like cold beer on a hot day.

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Other swimsuit models include new unpronounceable names such as Behati Prinsloo, Magdalena Frackowiak, Maryna Linchuk and the far more manageable moniker Lily Aldridge.

So who is this girl who looks a bit like a genetic combo of a young Cameron Diaz and that other South African stunner Charlize Theron? She was born in a little South African village called Mooi River, and grew up on a dairy and beef farm.A talent scout in a flea market spotted her at age 15 in a flea market when she was attending an all-girls boarding school.

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By 17, she was modeling in Paris, Milan, London and New York. But it was becoming a Victoria’s Secret Angel and walking in the televised lingerie fashion show that really boosted her profile. She writes on her website that she recently worked with major fashion photogs Mario Testino and Bruce Weber and did the cover of Italian Vogue with iconic photographer Steven Meisel.

She writes that -- despite her international modeling job -- she often feels like the little girl from a South African farm. “I’m still happiest and most comfortable hiding away on a beach with a good pair of sunglasses, soft sand and some Reggae music."

What, no sunsets and puppies?